Ménage à Trois
by Otoshigo
Summary: No one knows the real secret identity behind the superheroine of Paris, Ladybug. Of course, how could anyone ever suspect that it would be fifteen year old, aspiring fashion designer, class klutz, Martin Dupain-Cheng. Now he has to go to great lengths to keep his friendship with best friend Adrien intact... including masquerading as his own girlfriend? Ladrien, M/M, F/M, male!Mari
1. Chapter 1

It was a fairly typical day in Paris.

An explosion rocked the busy street. Interspersed with screams and cries of "Chat- its head!" and "Watch out for that beam!" Followed by cars sent flying up into the air. "Alright, take this! _CATACLYSM!"_

Yup. Fairly typical.

" _MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"_

The warm healing wave passed over the city, repairing the damage that the latest akumatized victim had sundered over the streets. Chat Noir hopped down to the street beside his partner, grinning wide as they fist bumped.

"Bien joué!"

Ladybug's earrings beeped, tugging her attention away. "Ah, that's my cue. Later Chat," she said, trying to dash away as she always did.

"Milady, I know you have a minute to spare," the black-clad boy said, catching her attention. He dashed in front of the beautiful girl, the girl that he was in love with, no matter who was behind the mask. "Could I convince you to join me for a midnight patrol over the Tour Eiffel?" he asked, taking her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.

"I don't think so," Ladybug replied, snatching her hand away.

This wasn't the first time he asked. Nor would it be the last. "And how will you ever fall for me if we only meet when we're fighting?" Chat asked. Then he grinned wide, "Or is that what you're afraid of?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, Chat. You're absolutely irresistible. If we ever end up alone, I won't be able to keep my hands off you."

Despite her dry flat tone, her partner leaned in, waggling his eyebrows. "You promise?"

"Ugh! Chat-!" she cried, shoving him away as her earrings beeped again. "Okay, I'm really going now. Later!"

Chat let out a resigned sigh as he watched Ladybug swing away. One day, he was going to wear her down. He simply had to be patient.

His ring beeped reminding him that not only did he have a couple minutes left, but... "Shoot, school!" he cried, making a dash for the collège. As he ran, he thought up what excuse he was going to use this time. Fashion emergency? He supposed that would have to do. His transformation gave way right when he dropped into the empty bathroom with only seconds to spare.

"Oh! I'm so weak!" his lazy kwami cried as he materialized, swooning oh so dramatically. "Why do you always insist on staying longer to flirt with Ladybug? I should charge you a cheese tax!"

Adrien rolled his eyes at the familiar complaint. He cupped Plagg into his palm and hid him in his shirt pocket, "Yeah, yeah, I have cheese in my bag. Now let's go." Jogging back to class, he snuck ever so stealthily into class when Mme Bustier's back was turned to the board. His eyes caught onto Nino and Alya in the first row, both giving him raised eyebrows and sly looks as he entered. He put a finger to his lips, before he snuck back to his seat. He'd gotten a little bit too good at sneaking in and out of class, with his teacher being none the wiser.

...Unlike the next student that tumbled in.

The door slammed open, jolting everyone to attention.

Adrien looked over, somehow not in the least bit surprised to see said student fallen flat on their face. Probably after having tripped over their own shoelaces. The head of silky black hair looked up, revealing two bright blue eyes and a face reddened with humiliation and from seeing the wrong side of the classroom floor.

Martin Dupain-Cheng: classroom klutz, aspiring fashion designer, dark-haired heart-throb.

And, somehow, Adrien's best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

_The very first thing that Adrien saw when he entered school for the first time, was his childhood friend Chloe in a shouting match with a raven haired boy. The model was rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do or how to respond in this kind of situation. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one, as everyone else in class looked on the scene in morbid fascination._

" _I can't believe you put gum in my hair!" the boy cried. "It's like you never left nursery school!"_

" _I did no such thing and even if I did, your long hair is atrocious! No boy should have long hair."_

 _At this the boy simply threw his hands up in the air. "That's it! You're not sitting behind me anymore! You and Sabrina are moving!"_

" _You can't tell me what to do!" Chloe cried, but she let out a squawk when the boy simply picked her up like a sack of potatoes and then deposited her into the first row. The girl went scarlet with anger, so livid that she was rendered speechless. Then the boy sent Sabrina a dark look that sent her scampering over to Chloe's side._

 _Adrien had never seen such a thing before. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, but he managed to school his features. No, he shouldn't laugh at his childhood friend. That would be wrong. He waved to get Chloe's attention, giving her a small smile before he tried taking the empty seat in the front row across the aisle from her._

 _The blond wasn't quite expecting Chloe come over and yank him to her by the sleeve and whisper harshly into his ear. "Adrien, you need to sit next to Martin."_

" _Martin?" he echoed, looking up at the raven haired boy who was ineffectually trying to tug the gum out his hair. He was only making it worse. "Him?"_

" _Yes, you need to sit next to him and spy on him for me," Chloe hissed._

 _Adrien frowned. He did not like where this was going at all. "Chloe, I'm not going to-"_

 _However, he didn't have very much say in the matter when Chloe tugged him up to the second row and growled at the girl beside Martin to move. He never felt more like a chess piece when he was unceremoniously dumped next to the boy in question. Who was staring at him with justifiable suspicion._

" _Um... hi," Adrien said awkwardly._

" _Who the hell are you?" the boy, Martin, demanded._

" _Er, I'm Adrien. Adrien Agreste. Very nice to meet you," he said, holding out a hand to shake._

 _Martin didn't take it. "You're friends with Chloe?" he asked, disdain dripping from his voice._

" _Ah... yeah..." He couldn't really blame him after the whole gum thing. Abashedly, he admitted, "She dropped me here so that I could spy on you, but I'm not going to do that. I swear. But... I wouldn't mind being friends? This is my first time at school. Chloe's the only friend I have so far."_

 _Martin stared at him as if he'd grown a third head. "Oh you poor boy. You've been so deprived," he said in a dramatic tone, taking Adrien's hands in his. Adrien flushed, but the other boy went on. "Don't you worry, I'll make sure you know what a real friend is supposed to be like."_

" _Ah... thanks?" the model said with a laugh, looking down at their joined hands. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to pull away or not. Secretly, he didn't mind, so he let it slide. "A-anyway, let me make it up to you. If you come to my place after school, my dad's personal stylist could fix up your hair for you."_

" _Your dad's personal... Wait, Agreste? Not like, Gabriel Agreste, right?"_

" _Yeah, the same," Adrien replied. The other boy's face brightened, blue eyes widening with sheer excitement as a grin spread across his face._

" _Adrien," he said, wrapping an arm around the model's shoulders, "we are going to be the best of friends."_

~o~

Martin remembered the first time he transformed into Ladybug. It had been... traumatic to say the least. One minute he was just his old self and then next, he was sporting breasts and was screaming with a voice much shriller than it had any right to be. When the shock wore off, he realized to his distress that not only had he been transformed into a superheroine, he had been turned into a very, very _cute_ superheroine. One in an extremely revealing suit, which helped matters not at all.

"All Ladybugs are female," Tikki had explained. "Forever in history. Females are forces of creation." It honestly made him wonder just how many other boys had been co-opted into the role. In any case, he (or she) got used to it at last. Constantly saving your loved ones from danger had a way of resetting one's priorities.

Chat Noir, however, was a different matter entirely.

"Will you stop calling me Milady!" Ladybug would grate out for what had to be about the fifteen-hundredth time.

"Aw, but Buginette, it fits you so well!" the cat grinned as they raced together across the rooftops towards their next opponent.

"Don't call me Buginette either!" Martin didn't ever think he'd ever been more sympathetic to girls getting catcalled on the street. His partner didn't seem to understand when his advances were completely unwanted. (Seriously. No means _no.)_ Unfortunately, he was stuck with the blond menace. For some bizarre reason, they actually worked _well_ together. They were in sync, perfect partners.

It was _annoying._

Martin's bad mood carried over to civilian life more often than not. The only balm of which was staying near Adrien's rather infectious aura of good cheer. He had no idea how his bestie managed to keep it up all the time, especially considering what he's been through, but it was like some kind of halo effect. It made Martin warm and happy, in ways that were best not to dwell on.

"Aw, damn it!" the model cried as once again his cat avatar was demolished.

"Better luck next time," Martin cackled, reaching over to steal some carrots.

It was the end of January. Both of them were lounging in Adrien's impressively large room, curled up in front of the TV with personal nutritionist sanctioned snacks spread in front of them. Martin was over at the Agreste mansion almost as much as his own home. The pair of them were inseparable since the very first day of school. (Nathalie tried. It didn't take.)

Adrien made a moue of indignation, but for some reason he didn't demand a rematch. He seemed... distracted.

It was suspicious. "Something on your mind?" Martin asked, hoping it wasn't another father-related trauma. Gabriel was a fashion legend, but he wasn't exactly father of the year material. He was pretty sure the only reason he was allowed over so much was because the man approved of his talent.

"Hm, not really," the blond replied unconvincingly, his eyes flicking over to the black screens of his computer. "Hey, um..." he started, before he shook his head. "No, never mind."

Martin raised an eyebrow, watching him expectantly.

It didn't take much for Adrien to break. "You know about girls, right?"

 _A little bit more than I would like._ However, Martin was fairly sure that he was referring to his growing popularity at school. For some reason, he was transforming from the awkward class klutz to being considered 'hot', second only to Adrien. "I guess...?" he said. He certainly had more experience than the homeschooled kid. "...Why?"

"Valentine's Day is coming up."

Something in Martin twitched slightly. However, he shoved it back down and put on his most supportive face for his bestie.

"Ah~" the designer said sagely, his lips curling into a smile as he watched Adrien's cheeks warm. Gosh, he was adorable sometimes. Not that he'd ever say that aloud. "You planning to confess to someone?" he asked, his voice lilting into a teasing tone.

"I... maybe," Adrien said, his cheeks only brightening. "...You swear you won't laugh?"

Martin scoffed. "No. Tell me anyway."

The blond gave his bestie a suspicious look, his eyes narrowed. Martin replied with a cheery grin. Finally, Adrien gave it up. "I like Ladybug."

Martin did not laugh.

Martin choked on air.

"I- you- you _what?!"_ he cried, physically balking as his entire face glowed bright red. "Y-you're kidding! You can't!"

Adrien blinked at the reaction. "What do you mean, I _can't?"_

It occurred the the designer just then how absurd his statement sounded. Even so, he had to flounder to get Adrien to change his mind before the idea hooked. Oh, he loved Adrien, but he was stupid stubborn sometimes. So he said the very first thing that came to mind. "I called dibs."

Now the confused bewilderment only morphed into a growing frown. "Di- You can't call dibs. When did you even call dibs?!" he cried, a heat coming to his voice that threw Martin for a loop. Why was the blond getting so worked up over a celebrity crush? "You've never even talked about her before!"

"Er, w-well, that's because-" His panicked mind was an evil, evil thing. "-because we're going out and I can't tell anyone!"

Adrien stared, his jaw going slack. Which is when Martin realized what he just said. Had he just... said he was going out with himself? ...Yes. Yes, he did. Fan-friggin-tastic. Well, it was too late to go back now.

"I don't believe you," the blond said. Martin didn't exactly blame him.

"Nope, it's true. Her heart belongs to me," the designer said with the straightest face that he could manage. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. She's an intensely private person. The only reason why I'm saying anything now is so you don't go and get your hopes up. I mean, you're my best friend. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I... Of _course_ not," Adrien huffed, "but that still doesn't mean I believe you."

"And how am I supposed to convince you?" Martin demanded.

"Well how did you even meet?" the model asked. His green eyes locked onto his, making Martin falter at their intensity. "Do you know who she is? How do you even date? What's she like?"

"She saved me and we hit it off," Martin replied, really not sure why he was getting the third degree. "No, I don't know who she is, but we like to meet up on the roof of my house and chat. She's... Well, she's definitely something else." What were the words that people used on Ayla's lady blog to described his alter ego? "She's quick on her feet, funny, adorable, she uh... She likes moonlit walks on the beach?" Okay, that one was kind of weak.

When the dubious look on Adrien's face only grew, he said, "Do you want me to ask her to come over here? She can tell you herself."

At once, Adrien's entire attitude changed. His eyes went wide, face turning pink. "L-Ladybug? Ladybug _here?_ Like _here_ here? In my _house?"_

Martin couldn't help but grin. Adrien was too precious for words sometimes. "If you told me you were a fan, I might have arranged something earlier," he said slyly. "You busy tomorrow night? No shoots or lessons or anything?"

"No! No, nothing!" Adrien said entirely too quickly, giving himself away. Then he tried to collect himself and said in a cooler tone, "I-I mean, I can make myself free. I-is there anything she likes, like creme brûlée or ice cream or anything?"

"She likes the same stuff I do," Martin replied. "You just remember that she'll be coming over as my _girlfriend,_ okay? Don't get any funny ideas." At that, some of the enthusiasm dimmed somewhat, but the model nodded. Martin gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder. It was hard getting a crush crushed, celebrity or not. "So, you want a rematch?" he asked, gesturing to the video game.

Adrien nodded, taking up his controller again and taking on Martin with renewed vigor. Like he had something to prove.

~o~

The next evening, Ladybug started to have some serious doubts about whether this was a good idea or not. He stared at Adrien's home from across the street, his stomach doing somersaults as he thought of confronting him.

Maybe it wasn't wise to head over to his best friend's house - the best friend who was seriously crushing on him. It had been one thing to think about it in third person. However, coming face to face with it was going to be so, so awkward. And _confusing_ and-

No, no. He already promised. If Ladybug didn't show, then Martin may as well call himself a liar and then there would be no way for Adrien to get over his crush. He was just going to have to suck it up and bite the bullet.

Taking a long breath, Ladybug psyched himself up and patted his cheeks to get over his nerves. "It's no big. It's just Adrien. Geeky, goofy Adrien." With that he swung over, easily evading the security cameras to land lightly on the ledge of Adrien's window. Then he knocked on the glass.

~o~

Adrien looked up from his pacing, in a similar state of confusion and anxiety. He hadn't been able to concentrate all day in anticipation of Ladybug's visit. Plagg had only scoffed at him as he fretted over the snacks he laid out, reminding him before he could do something silly like light up some candles, "You know that if she shows up, that just proves Martin was right."

And the moment of truth was here. Ladybug was _here._ Ladybug was here and that meant...

Adrien's heart couldn't decide whether to sing for joy or to break in crushing disappointment. Ladybug was here. Which meant she was taken.

But she was _here._

Ladybug frowned at him, knocking again. "You gonna let me in?" she asked, her voice muffled through the glass.

Some sense came back to Adrien's mind and he nodded quickly. He went to the window, opening it up to allow His Lady entry. "Hi," he said, feeling himself grow heated as he took in her soft feminine features and those striking bluebell eyes.

"Hi," Ladybug responded, her lips stretching out into a shy smile. He'd never seen such a smile before. Never directed at himself. He swallowed hard, feeling his entire body tingle. "Nice place you have here. Would be nice to see the inside of it," Ladybug teased, raising an eyebrow.

"O-oh, right!" he stepped aside and took her delicate hand in his, helping her inside. Although Plagg had stopped him from rose petals and candles, he hadn't been able to resist mood lighting. His room was cast in warm, low lighting, and a spread of chocolate, cheese and fruit was spread over his table, along with a bottle of sparkling lemonade.

Ladybug looked at the array with raised eyebrows. "Um..." she said awkwardly, "so, Martin asked me to come over? Said you were a fan."

"Oh! Yes!" Adrien flushed, reminded once again of her purpose here. "Y-yeah, he said you two were going out? Sorry I didn't believe him. But you're here! S-so, I guess it's true then." He looked over to the food over the table. "A-and this isn't _anything,_ I swear. I mean, you're a superhero, right? You deserve VIP treatment."

Oh Bells, he was such an idiot. What was he thinking? She was _taken._ By his _best friend._

However, Ladybug seemed to finally relax, giving him a grin, "Well, you'd really know how to treat a VIP, I suppose," she said as she sat down on the couch. "So, now that we have that out of the way, anything you want to ask now that you have me to yourself?"

 _Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?_

Adrien refrained, but just barely. He had to act appropriately, after all. Taking a seat beside her, he offered her a drink and said, "Well, I guess... How long have you and Martin been together?"

"Oh, forever, seems like," Ladybug answered in bemusement. "I've known him longer than Chat Noir, if that gives you a clue."

Adrien stared, not expecting that answer. Somehow, he couldn't help the small coil of dismay. But how? How could they be closer than Ladybug and Chat Noir? They were _meant_ for each other. However, clearly this was an evening to revisit all his assumptions. "You really like him then?"

"Like he's my other half," Ladybug replied wryly. "Are you just going to ask me questions about Martin all night? Should I be jealous?" she asked, her lips pulling into a teasing grin.

Adrien's face exploded into a bright blush. "What-! No, that wasn't-! I'm not-!"

Ladybug broke into laughter. "Relax, I'm kidding!" she smiled, patting the blond on the shoulder. "Gosh, you're so cute sometimes."

"I... what?" _Sometimes?_

Realizing what she just said, Ladybug blushed. "Oh, uh, I mean, well, yeah you're cute. I mean, you're a model. You have to be right?" she said with a nervous laugh. "A-anyway, it's nice to finally meet you. Martin talks about you all the time."

"He does?" Adrien blinked.

"Of course," Ladybug smiled. "Aren't you best friends? He adores you to bits."

Adore was kind of an odd word choice, but thinking on it, Adrien supposed that Martin was a very affectionate and protective friend. Particularly when he learned about his home life. He just wondered what Martin would think if he knew he was Chat Noir. A smile stretched across his lips. What would _Ladybug_ think if she knew?

"What does he say about me?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh you don't want to hear about _that,"_ Ladybug said a little too quickly as she waved a dismissive hand. "It's just good things though, I promise."

Well now he was _really_ curious. He was going to have to corner Martin about it later.

For now though, he had _Ladybug_ in his room. He'd never had her attention for this long before. This was the purrfect opportunity to get to know her better. "So, do you like being a superhero?" he asked, leaning in with interest. "Isn't it hard?"

Ladybug let out a laugh. "Well, it's not a picnic, but I do it to keep Paris safe. It's important work. To tell you the truth though, it's more than a little difficult trying to juggle my different identities."

"I know what you mean," Adrien sighed. When she glanced up at his slip, he stammered quickly, "I-I mean, between the public persona and the personal. Everyone seems to be demanding my time. It's hard to prioritize sometimes."

"Yeah, Martin says you have it hard," Ladybug said, not reacting to the slip. _Good._ "Your schedule sounds even crazier than mine. He worries about you sometimes."

Apparently enough to talk about it to Ladybug. As his cheeks warmed, she seemed to sense his embarrassment and said quickly, "Oh, it's not- Please don't think it's bad. He just cares about you. That's all."

More than he thought, he was beginning to realize.

Setting that aside for now, Adrien asked, "Well, it must be fun working with a partner, right? You like Chat Noir, right?"

Adrien wasn't quite prepared for the way Ladybug's entire body seemed to coil up in distaste. Her expression was particularly scornful. "Chat Noir? No, not really. He's a horrendous flirt. And he's _pushy_ and _annoying._ I mean, I shouldn't have to tell him I'm with somebody to get him to stop harassing me, right?"

The model went white. "You think he's annoying?"

"Well, _yeah,"_ Ladybug replied, oblivious to Adrien's reaction as she stewed in her righteous anger. "I tell him all the time not to call me pet names, but he doesn't listen. And I'm not even remotely interested, but he seems to think it's okay to flirt with me. He never gets the hint!"

The blond felt sick. Oh Bells. No wonder Ladybug was with Martin. He didn't stand a chance. He was _annoying._

"Um, y-you don't think _I'm_ annoying do you?" he asked quietly, pointing to himself.

Ladybug blinked at that. "Oh, no, never!" she promised, putting a hand on Adrien's knee. "You're very sweet. It's impossible to dislike you."

Adrien, however, sat frozen. Which is when Ladybug realized where her hand was. "Ah! Sorry!" she cried, pulling her hand away as if it was burned. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking!"

"N-no, it's okay," the blind squeaked when he had recovered enough to speak. He just wasn't used to being touched. Not that he didn't like it. Only Martin touched him on a regular basis. "You and Martin are both kind of tactile, aren't you?"

"Ah... yeah," Ladybug said awkwardly, her face pink with a pretty blush. "I guess that's why we get along so well."

Adrien let out a weak laugh. "M-makes sense I guess."

The pair of them sat together awkwardly. Not quite sure how to carry the conversation. Being told you were the bane of someone's existence had a way of taking the wind out of your sails. Yet... She called him sweet. Cute, even. That meant all hope wasn't lost, right?

He could be sweet. He could be _very_ sweet.

Adrien turned a small smile on Ladybug, and said, "Well thanks for coming tonight. It's really nice to actually talk to you like this. Although I'm still kind of shocked that you've known Martin all this time. I mean, it sounds like you might have even met him before he met me."

Ladybug blinked at that, looking up as she did the mental calculations. "Oh! I suppose you're right. You only met him on your second day of school, right? After that whole gum incident."

"He told you about _that?"_ Adrien said in surprise.

"Yeah, he tells me about everything," Ladybug replied nonchalantly. "Like how Chloe Bourgeois has it in for him for some reason."

The smile on Adrien's face widened. "Well, don't tell him, but that's because Chloe has a huge crush on him."

Ladybug's eyes went wide. "Wait, _what?_ You're _kidding."_

"Nope," the blond laughed. "It's pulling pigtails. She keeps trying to get on his nerves all the time to get his attention. I mean, I don't blame her. Martin isn't exactly hard on the eyes. The black hair and blue eyed combo is kind of lethal." Ladybug went pink again, making a warm flurry in Adrien's stomach. He wasn't complimenting her, he told himself. He was complimenting Martin. He wouldn't, _shouldn't,_ compliment his best friend's girlfriend.

Even if he really, really wanted to.

Somehow, he managed to restrain himself as they fell into light conversation after their rather awkward start. She was just so fun to talk to. Martin was right when he said their interests were similar (scarily similar in fact), which made it about as easy to talk to her as his best friend. And he made her _laugh,_ which was amazing because she had the most beautiful smile that made his heart throb and his body heat.

Before either of them realized it, it was starting to get light out. Both had been yawning for a while. When Adrien nodded off in a micro-nap, it was clear that Ladybug had to go. Smiling warmly at him, Ladybug nudged him with an elbow to wake him. "Adrien, you should go to bed."

"Ngh, don' want you to leave," the blond mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Too bad. I need to go to school," Ladybug replied, pushing herself up from the couch.

Adrien blinked sleepily at this, hearing but not absorbing the words. "Will you come back?" he asked, watching as she stole towards the window.

Ladybug hesitated, her hand on the window frame. She didn't look back at him, when she answered, "...Okay." Then she was gone, the zip of her yoyo sounding in the distance.

Smiling broadly to himself, a brief flurry of giddy energy burst through Adrien. He let out a faint squeal, both hands pumping in the air. She was going to come back! She liked him. And he loved her.

He could win her over.

~o~

Reality set in the next day - or rather the next few hours - when Adrien turned up for class. His stomach roiled with guilt as he looked to the empty space next to him, as Martin turned up late for class yet again. It was a near thing that he made it himself, but having a personal assistant to rouse him certainly helped. Now though, he was kept wide awake from sheer nerves.

He wanted Martin's girlfriend. He wanted her _badly._ Even though every part of him knew that it was wrong. It made him feel sick to his stomach, which did not help the fog in his mind from sleeplessness. Nino glanced over his shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow at his extra pale face. "Dude, you okay?" he whispered as Mme Bustier went over their history tests.

Adrien nodded, but stiffened when he saw the classroom door slide subtly open. Martin peeked in, then managed to rather stealthily sneak in while their professor was writing on the board. Without falling on his face this time. With a wide grin, Martin slipped in beside his bestie. "Good morning~" he said, in an absolutely delighted mood. "Did you have a good time last night?"

Adrien nodded slowly. Martin grinned in response, before turning his attention to the board to try to catch up. Somehow, the complete lack of suspicion on Martin's part just made his guilt exponentially worse. Martin knew he had a crush, yet it seemed like he didn't have a care in the world. He just trusted Adrien that much.

Oh Bells, he was a _horrible_ friend. What was he doing?

Yet despite his overwhelming guilt, the next time Ladybug came by, he couldn't turn her away. Warmth spread through his at the sight of the familiar black and red, pushing the guilt away as all thoughts filled with her. Especially when she smiled at him, like he was the center of the universe. He couldn't think properly with her nearby. He was done for.

When she asked if she should come again, all he could say was yes.


	3. Chapter 3

_It was career day at school._

 _A day where proud students showed off their heritage and proud parents did their utmost to do the same. While taking stock of their offspring's classmates and their parents. Particularly interesting conversations did crop up at the dinner table after these days. This one would prove no different._

 _Just before his own presentation with his father, Martin peeked out into the hallway, while everyone's attention was on Sabrina and Officer Raincomprix. He'd seen Adrien sneak out into the hallway and the blond hadn't come back yet. It didn't bode well._

 _His fears were confirmed when he saw the model in the hall. Adrien's back was towards him, leaning against the wall, shoulders hunched as he looked down at his phone. It could only mean one thing._

" _He's not coming?" the raven haired boy asked, jolting Adrien's attention to him. The model opened his mouth to speak, but then merely shook his head. It didn't need to be said. Martin's heart panged. Adrien just looked so dejected, so lonely. Once again, so disappointed._

 _Out in the privacy of the hallway, he stepped forward and took the blond up into a tight hug. He willed all his good feelings into it, wishing there was something, anything that he could do to make the other boy feel better._

 _Adrien stiffened for half a moment, before he let himself melt into it. "Thank you," he whispered._

" _Of course. What are friends for?"_

 _Smiling, he patted Adrien on the back before he ushered him back into the classroom. "Come on. My dad brought croissants. I'll let you have all the extra."_

~o~

Martin was a terrible friend. And a horrible human being.

He knew this. Even though he kept going over to Adrien's in the guise of Ladybug. Much to Tikki's continual consternation and disapproval. Which he tried his best to ignore as he transformed into the spotted heroine.

What kind of friend took advantage of his best friend's ignorance like this? He wasn't even really sure of his motivations behind his Ladybug visits anymore. Obviously, Adrien was convinced of his story. There was no need to keep going there. To keep nourishing Adrien's celebrity crush. Worse, he had no idea that Martin was behind the mask. He could probably ask him anything, any embarrassing secret, and Adrien would trip over himself to spill. But he didn't need to know any secrets. He wasn't insecure enough that he had to find out what Adrien really thought of him either.

It was just... The way he looked at him - at _her_ \- was just so addictive. It was _wrong,_ manipulative, and yet... Martin couldn't even find it in himself to stop himself. He reveled in it, becoming closer to Adrien in ways he didn't think was even possible. In ways that would make Adrien feel violated, if he ever found out.

It was also beginning to force him to think about _other_ things. Such as _why_ he liked Adrien looking at him like that. Like he was the whole of his world. He'd been doing such a good job ignoring it until now. Now it simmered underneath his skin, begging to be named.

Martin refused to. Even as he took his fourth and fifth visits to Adrien's home.

~o~

"Seriously, do you and Martin practice together? No wonder I can't beat either of you!"

It was a situation so familiar, save for the fact that it was Ladybug now kicking the blond model's ass at UMS. In fact, Adrien sometimes forgot that it wasn't Martin next to him. Until he heard a laugh, or spied the slender legs out of the corner of his eye.

Yet, the surrealness of it was starting to get to him.

 _Why am I comparing Ladybug to Martin?_

Then she'd brush shoulders against him and his mind would blank. Or she'd smile and all he could see were her lips. She'd laugh and he looked for the sparkle in her eyes.

Then later it would come to him again.

Their words, their mannerisms. Likes and dislikes. Bells, they even sat the same way.

He'd heard of cases where a couple was so close they were nearly identical, but this was a little ridiculous. They could be twins. Legit twins. As in related. It didn't help that Martin didn't know her identity, but he had to trust that Ladybug wouldn't do something like date her twin brother. Besides, he was 99.9% positive that Martin was an only child.

Still, it was not intermingling well with his lingering guilt. The guilt that liked to rear its ugly head whenever he hung out with Martin in class or in the cold isolated darkness of the night. The pair were constantly on his mind. At no point did one end and the other begin.

He finally reached a tipping point, when the thoughts invaded into his subconscious.

 _Adrien dreamed of Ladybug being kissed. Those soft pink lips were perfect for kissing. Not unexpectedly, an image of Martin kissing her came to the forefront of his mind. Yet for some reason, he didn't immediately reject it. He watched, like a voyeur, as the pair suckled each other's mouths, moaning breathlessly as they looked to one another. Then for some reason, they noticed him. Adrien felt his body heating up, watching the way their eyes slid over to him. Smiles inviting. Gazes dark and wanting._

 _Martin pulled him over first. He was more assertive like that. He grabbed Adrien by the wrist, tugging him over and standing behind with both hands on his shoulders. Ladybug stood in front of him, smiling as she placed both hands on his cheeks, the protective mesh cool against his skin. His eyes slid closed as she leaned up to press a kiss against his lips. He let out a soft noise of want, his heart thudding as he basked in the essence of her._

" _I love you... I love you..." he whispered against her lips._

 _Strangely, it wasn't mesh against his skin anymore, but warm and calloused fingers. He peeked and saw identical bluebell eyes, half-lidded with want. Only, they weren't framed with a red mask anymore. And the face that held them was stronger, more angular. Yet still so familiar._

" _Martin..." he breathed, watching as the other smiled before he leaned in again._

Adrien awoke with a gasp, his entire body as hot and flushed. What the- What the hell was _that?_ Had his guilt taken some sort of even more sick and twisted form now? Was it infecting his dreams? It was the only explanation that he could think of. Why else would he suddenly be dreaming of- of...

 _That's it. That's it. This has officially gone too far._

 _I have to tell him._

~o~

The next day, Adrien was a bundle of nervous energy. His anxiety had returned, as full on as the day after Ladybug's first visit. Only this time, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to face his best friend after dreaming of making out with him. As it was, it was taking all of his modeling skills to keep from letting his flustered embarrassment show all over his face.

 _Karma. It's karma biting me in the ass. I should have told Ladybug to stop coming._

"-dude. Dude, are you listening to us?"

Adrien blinked as he looked up. "Huh? What?" he looked up to Alya and Nino's expectant looks. "Ah, sorry. What did you say?"

"Valentine's Day is coming up," Alya repeated slowly for his benefit. "Are you going to do anything with anyone?"

"M-m-me?" the blond stammered, all his schooling going out the window as his face exploded into a bright blush. He got a flash of black hair and blue eyes and distressingly, he didn't even know _whose._ "No! Why would you think- I'm not- Nothing's going on!"

Nino and Alya exchanged a sly look. It probably wasn't the most credible thing he'd ever said. "So... what's Martin doing for Valentine's Day?" the reporter asked, her lips spreading into a wicked smile.

 _Something with Ladybug, no doubt._

A flash of jealousy went through him, undeserved and irrational. But he couldn't help it. His flustered expression shut down. "He's busy," he replied curtly, "with someone else."

At this, his friends just blinked, their teasing expressions falling away. "Really?" Nino said in confusion. "But I thought Martin-" The DJ let out a yelp as his girlfriend elbowed him viciously in the ribs. "Hey what gives!" However, Alya whispered harshly in his ear and effectively shut that conversation down.

Alya then looked up to Adrien, to his sullen expression, and asked slowly, "Adrien...? Are you- You alright with him seeing someone...?"

The blond stared back, brow knitting into a frown. That was a very odd question. They couldn't know that Martin was hooking up with Ladybug, _his_ love interest. Only he knew that. And why did she phrase it like he'd have a problem with Martin-

However, he didn't have the chance to finish the thought, when said designer burst into the room. As always, he came in like a gale. A bright burst of energy that passed over them, before he settled down in his seat. "Here! I'm here!" he cried, as he plopped down next to his best friend. "Oh, and I have croissants. Here." He cheerfully passed the bag of croissants around to his friends, his smile bright and happy.

The darkness in Adrien's mind evaporated in place of sheer panic. Remembering a little too clearly the details of his dream. Particularly when Martin turned his devastating blue eyes in his direction and grinned. "I got an extra for you," he said, holding the bag underneath Adrien's nose.

For a solid pause, Adrien simply couldn't speak. His throat had tightened up and his tongue stopped working.

"Um... you okay?" Martin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Adrien coughed, finally recovering. "Ah- ahem, yes. Yes, I'm fine," he said, gratefully taking the bag. For some reason, he could feel Nino and Alya shooting him knowing looks, but he refused to acknowledge them. "Th-thanks. For the croissants."

"No problem," the other boy smiled, before he turned to unpacking his bag.

Martin went on through the day, as if nothing was amiss. Technically, nothing was. Adrien hadn't done anything. Aside from having unclean thoughts about a certain someone. Certain someones plural. He'd had this vain hope that his mind would dismiss it as a silly dream when he actually saw Martin, but his head was simply having none of that. No, it decided that it was going to keep replaying the image over and over in his mind. Like some sort of torture device.

If he didn't say something, anything, he was going to pop.

"Aren't you going to ask what we do?"

It was after school, with students fleeing the grounds. Martin was finished getting his usual admonition from Mme Bustier for being late. Adrien was supposed to dash off for fencing, but he lingered as he usually did in case Martin wanted to tag along. Besides, the burning question couldn't hold itself any longer.

Martin blinked at the question, mid-packing his bag. "No. I trust you," he said with a grin. "And I trust her too. You don't have to tell me anything, if you don't want to. I mean, you can if you want. But I don't need to hear it."

 _...Way to twist the knife._

Noticing the way that the blond paled, Martin frowned, "Adrien, something wrong?"

"N-no!" the model said quickly. "No, nothing wrong. I just-" He struggled, trying to figure out how to put his thoughts to words. He was feeling guilty. That's all. If he just admitted it, then maybe the rest of these confusing thoughts would _go away._ "She's... something else. She's really..."

 _I want to hold her hand. I want to tell her all my secrets. I want kiss her. I want her. I want her- I want you-_

"...You still like her?" Martin hazarded a guess. Adrien nodded, relieved he didn't have to put it into words. Though it killed him that he was still betraying the one that knew him so well.

"...Sorry," Adrien muttered, rubbing a hand along his arm. "I don't think meeting her helped." Because she liked him as Adrien. She _liked_ him. And she was so similar to Martin and-

"No, it's okay," Martin replied quickly. His own cheeks went pink in a way that would make any girl swoon. It... it wasn't doing much for Adrien's psyche either. "I guess I can't really expect you to stop how you feel overnight. You... you still want to see her though?"

"I... " Adrien started awkwardly, "Maybe you should come this time. With her, I mean." Maybe actually seeing the both of them together would be the antidote to his treacherous thoughts. (Or well, make it a hundred times worse. He was willing to risk it.) However, at the designer's sudden panicked expression, he revised, "...Or not?"

"I.. can't," Martin said in a low voice. His eyes did that searching thing they did when he was grossly uncomfortable, trying to look at everything but him. "I... it's not a good idea for us to be seen together. Ladybug doesn't want me to be a target for akuma if it's public that we're associated."

At once, a slice of cold fear rent through the blond, cutting through the heavy mantle of confusion and guilt. Oh Bells, he didn't even think about that. Martin was unlucky enough as it was and already seemed to turn up near the akumatized victims. If... if anything ever happened to him...

Without thinking, Adrien grasped his best friend by the shoulders, his green eyes turning fierce. "I won't let anything happen to you," he swore, with all the power of Chat Noir behind his words. "I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Martin blinked, his face flushing brightly. He was silent for a moment too long, before he let out a strained laugh as he gently took the blond's hands away. "I- Well, thanks. I appreciate it. Although Ladybug will keep me safe. You don't have to worry."

 _Ladybug can't be everywhere,_ Adrien thought, unable to rid himself of the bolt of fear that raced through his blood. But he already nearly gave himself away. What could a model do about keeping him safe really? Aside from stealing Martin away into his home for safekeeping. With the state of the art security system and panic lock down mode. He practically lived there anyway. What difference would it make? Martin would be close and _safe_ and...

...and he was starting to sound a little too much like his father.

"Can you come over today?" he asked instead.

Apparently, he was completely transparent, because Martin only smiled in amusement. "Sure, no problem. I'll just let my parents know." He gestured for Adrien to go on ahead, before he pulled out his cell phone to do just as he said.

Adrien looked at him for a beat longer, before reluctantly turning towards the locker room to change into his fencing gear. The impulse to see, to hold, to hug was as strong as any desire to be close to Ladybug. For some reason, it took the mere thought of losing him to make him figure it out. Just how essential he was. To see how much Adrien had taken him for granted.

 _I can't do this with Ladybug. I can't._ Much as he wanted to, he couldn't bear the thought of losing his most precious friend. Either at the hands of a supervillain or through his own jealousy.

 _I'll tell her tonight. I'll get over it._

 _I'm done._

~o~

Adrien tried to cajole Martin into staying for as long as possible after school. Perhaps in some vain effort to see him and Ladybug overlap. However, it was getting to be near eleven o'clock when Martin finally called it quits. "You know, you're going to see me tomorrow," he promised as he physically had to tug Adrien off of him at the door. "I'll text you when I get home, okay?" The designer gave him one last hug to reassure him, feeling the heart beating a little too rapidly in the blond's chest.

Hoo boy, he should have never planted the idea that he was in any physical danger. He didn't know quite what he was in for when he swung by as Ladybug, but it probably wasn't going to be pretty.

At the same time, he couldn't help feeling just a little... gratified that Adrien cared about him that much.

As soon as he got home, Martin checked in with his parents to 'turn in' for the night, texted Adrien, and then swung out of his room in no less than five minutes. In the next five, he was back at Adrien's under disguise, tapping at the window as he usually did to gain entry.

He didn't quite expect the stormy expression brewing over the model's face as he greeted him. "H-hey there," he said with a nervous smile. "Wow, Martin stayed over really long tonight. I didn't think he'd ever leave. Something happen?"

"We need to talk," Adrien said, stepping aside to allow him entry.

...Those were never good words.

Gingerly, Ladybug slid into the privacy of Adrien's rooms, holding his hands behind his back as he regarded the blond. His stomach began to sink, as he watched Adrien pace briefly as he gathered his thoughts. "...You need to break up with Martin," the model suddenly spoke, turning fierce green eyes in his direction.

Ladybug blinked. Okay, that wasn't exactly what he was expecting. Unable to help himself, he let out a scoff, which only darkened Adrien's expression. "I am _not_ going to do that," he replied dismissively. He couldn't even if he tried, anyway.

"Being close to you is going to put him in danger," Adrien snapped. "I don't care how close you are. You're just being selfish! Let him go!"

Ladybug frowned. "Selfish? You're calling _me_ selfish? Come on, Adrien. What's your real motivation for me breaking up with him? So you can have me to yourself?"

He touched a nerve. No, he stomped on a landmine. He could see the way that Adrien riveted with guilt, before his expression grew twice as angry. "At least I'm better equipped to handle the danger around you," he retorted sharply. "Martin is innocent! I'm not going to let your relationship harm him!"

Ladybug flushed. He had no idea whether to be giddy or pissed off. However, his own indignation at the barb to his free will surged and erred on the side of PO'd. "You can't tell me what to do! Either of us! What right do you have to-"

His words were cut off when Adrien caught his face in between his hands and kissed him. Ladybug didn't even have the chance to squeak. All of his thoughts, all his senses, were focused entirely on the two warm lips pressed against his own. Every part of him wanted to melt into it, to embrace it, to take Adrien wholly into him and accept this...

...Except the bit that shoved him away.

"Adrien, what the-!" he cried, his face flushed as he tried to regain control of himself. "What are you doing?!" Once the blond was away, his mind was a flurry of hot confusion. He liked it. He liked the kiss. Holy shit. He liked his best friend kissing him. There was nowhere to hide anymore. He _liked_ it.

But that sharp, angry part of him that shoved him away demanded _why_ it happened.

"Stop seeing him," Adrien whispered, his hands firmly gripping his shoulders. "You can have me instead. Just leave him alone. Please."

Ladybug shook the blond's hands off of him, livid, confused and mostly angry. "No!" he bit out. "No matter what you say, it's not going to happen!"

The blond stared back at him, his green eyes as sharp and as dark as panther's. "...Then you and I have nothing more to discuss. You and I are enemies, Ladybug. As long as you're with Martin, you're a danger to him."

"Adrien..." Ladybug whispered, his whole body turning cold.

However, the model stormed over to his window and opened it. "I think you should leave. Don't come back."

The superheroine studied Adrien for a long time. To the line in the sand that he had suddenly drawn. He had just never expected that it would be fighting over _himself._ At least not in this way. However, Adrien's face was as unforgiving as his father's with eyes as cold as ice. There was no point in trying to say anything.

"...Fine," he answered, stalking past the blond to the open window. "I overstayed my welcome anyway. You have a good night Adrien," he said coldly.

"Good night," Adrien responded, his tone just as frosty. Before he promptly slammed the window shut.

Ladybug stood at the window sill at a loss for just a moment longer, watching as Adrien snapped his blinds closed. He had no idea what just happened. He was rejected for... himself? His mind already spun with the kiss and his own confusion. There really wasn't anything that he could do but swing back home.

Maybe, just maybe, Adrien would be back to his senses by morning. Then everything could go back to normal.

Absently, he touched his lips, somehow knowing nothing could ever be normal again.


	4. Chapter 4

" _I heard there was a birthday today~"_

 _Adrien looked up at the sing-songy voice, blinking as he saw Martin looking down at him with a wide, goofy grin. "Wait... you- How did you-" he stammered, not quite sure how to react._

" _You have a wikipedia article on you, Adrien. It wasn't hard to figure out," the designer replied, before he pulled out a small cake from behind his back. "Surprise!"_

 _Adrien blinked at the delicate white cake with the words Bonne Anniversaire scrawled in blue across the top. "I... Is this for me?" he asked in awe, looking up to see not only Martin's smiling face, but Nino and Alya's as well. Along with others in the class._

" _I figured your dad wasn't going to let you have a party," Martin explained, sliding in the seat next to his best friend. "So, we decided to bring the party to you instead. Isn't that right?" he asked looking up to class and getting a chorus of affirmations in reply._

 _The blond looked down at the cake, so touched that he could hardly speak. "I... thank you. Thank you so much..." he whispered. His smile only broadened when Martin wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him into a one-armed hug._

" _Of course. You deserve it," the designer replied. "Oh, and I got this for you." He pulled out a slender blue package, sliding it over to the blond._

 _Adrien blinked at it. "Martin, you didn't have to-"_

" _Yes, I did. Open it."_

 _The model smiled, doing as he was bid. Inside was a handknit blue scarf, wrapped in tissue paper. "Oh, wow. Thank you!" he cried as he held it up._

" _I didn't know you knit," Alya said with a quirked eyebrow and a knowing smirk. "Isn't that a lot of work?"_

" _Ah, w-well. I'm going to be in fashion design. It would be weird if I didn't learn," Martin replied uncomfortably, folding his arms over his chest._

 _Adrien was fairly sure his father didn't know how to knit, but he had the grace not to point that out. Instead, he wrapped the scarf around his neck and said again, "Thank you again. I'll treasure it."_

 _Martin smiled in reply. "No problem. What are best friends for?"_

~o~

The next morning, Martin had no idea what to expect out of Adrien after their bizarre argument. His nerves were already frayed, remembering a little too clearly the kiss that the blond had planted on him. He hadn't slept a wink and his eyes were nervous and bloodshot. He thought for sure that his guilty conscience would give him away on sight.

It did _not_ help that he found Adrien waiting for him at his door. The designer let out an undignified yelp, jumping nearly two feet in the air at the sudden sight of the blond. Never in all their months together had Adrien made the extra effort of waiting at his door. Because seriously, he lived right next to school. It wasn't worth the trouble. Except now, apparently Adrien decided that it was.

"Good morning!" the blond said cheerfully, while Martin recovered from his mild heart attack.

"I... uh, hi?" the designer said awkwardly in return. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to walk you to school," Adrien replied simply. "Are you ready to go?"

School was literally only a few metres away. So, apparently, Adrien was still on his protect Martin at all costs kick. "...Yeah, I'm ready," Martin replied, hefting his bag to a more comfortable position over his shoulder. "You know, you really don't have to escort me-"

"Of course I do," Adrien cut in. "What are friends for?" he added, giving him a smile that shut down any and all arguments. Martin could only nod mutely and follow along.

The blond continued to discombobulate him all morning. Adrien pulled a full on charm offensive, doing ridiculous things like opening the door for him, being extra helpful during lessons, giving him energy bars because he missed breakfast, and fussing over him in general. It was just a little bit overwhelming. It was like he was being courted, but he _knew_ that couldn't be the case. Adrien liked Ladybug. He proved that very thoroughly last night.

Still, this was doing absolutely nothing for his already frazzled psyche. He still hadn't had time to process that he liked Adrien kissing him, which meant _something_ clearly. And it was not helping that the blond was constantly hovering over him like a helicopter.

At lunch, he finally had a break when Adrien had to head home for lunch, although the blond had tried unsuccessfully in dragging him along. Martin just about collapsed against his bench, sliding down until he could stare at the ceiling from his slouched position. "What in the hell was all that?" he asked himself aloud, not expecting an answer.

Somehow one was provided one anyway. In the form of Nino and Alya, who had also been noticing how extra 'helpful' the model had been acting all morning. "Well, Valentine's Day is coming up," the reporter said cryptically, her lips tugging into a smile.

"And Adrien heard you're seeing someone already," the DJ added, a little more direct, but no less confusing.

Martin looked down from the ceiling to the pair of them. "...What is that supposed to mean?" And wait, he told them about that?

However, their discussion was oh so rudely interrupted by an explosion off in the distance. The floor and walls around them shook, alerting the students in school to the danger. Naturally, Alya let out a gasp and dove into her bag for her phone. "Nino, let's go! It's an akuma!" she cried, yanking her boyfriend up from their seat.

"Wh-th- you don't know that!" the DJ cried, "It could just be a normal bomb! It's dangerous!"

Alya rolled her eyes, before they landed on Martin. "Alright, you're coming along," she decided, taking him by the wrist and pulling him up.

"Wha- me? Why me?" Martin demanded.

"You're not really going to let me go all by my lonesome, are you? You heard Nino. It's dangerous," Alya asked, putting a hand to her hip. Although both boys were perfectly aware that she was more wont to use them as support props for filming in her never ending Ladyblog quest.

The designer sighed. Oh well, he supposed that she had a point. He could protect her as Ladybug in any case, akuma or no. " _Fine,"_ he said in resignation, "let's go then. Before we completely miss lunch." He cast a significant look back at Nino over his shoulder.

"Oh fine, I guess we're _all_ going," Nino grumbled, pushing himself up from his seat to follow the pair of them.

It didn't take long at all to find the center of the action, as they dashed down the street towards the Champs-Elysees. All it took was one look at the giant goopy octomonster of doom tossing around cars and suctioning up people to see that it was probably an akuma. Reckless as ever, Alya sped on ahead with Nino shouting at her heels. Martin slowed his pace, eyes already searching for someplace to transform into Ladybug.

"Martin!"

The designer froze to the spot. Adrien? He spun around, only to come face to face with a certain black masked superhero. With that, he let out another undignified yelp. "Ch-Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"

"I belong here more than you," Chat replied sharply. "It's dangerous."

Okay, fine. Stupid question. However, before he had the chance to retort, Chat suddenly swept him up into his arms and dove out of the way of an oncoming projectile vehicle. Only, he didn't stop there, but bounded up to the rooftops and away from the epicenter. In what seemed like a minute flat, he deposited Martin at the top of the Grand Paris Hotel.

"Here. Stay here," Chat commanded, his strong hands grasping the designer by the shoulders. "Don't move, alright?"

"But my friends-"

Suddenly, his perpetually annoying partner cupped his face, causing Martin to make an odd squeaky sound, and said firmly, "I'll take care of them. You just promise to stay safe." The only thing he could do, really, was nod mutely. Chat grinned and with that promise, he took off back towards the danger.

Martin stood frozen for a solid heartbeat after he'd gone. "...What in the hell?" he said aloud.

Tikki emerged from her hiding spot, her bright blue eyes peeking up at her chosen. "It looks like Chat Noir can be gallant if he wants to," she said sagely, lips quirking into a smile.

At that, Martin shook the thought off, getting a hold of himself. "Yeah, but probably only because I didn't have tits," he muttered darkly. "Oh well. Time to change that. Tikki, transforme-moi!"

Minutes later, he was in on the action, dodging opaque green tentacles and hurtling cars. He spotted Chat Noir not far away, concentrating on not trying to get caught up in any suctioning tentacles. He could already see where the victims were, the shadows of human bodies darkening parts of the green mass. "Sorry I'm late!" he called, grabbing the cat's attention.

Ladybug wasn't quite prepared for the look of pure contempt that Chat shot his way. However, it lasted for a mere second, before his partner seemed to mentally reset himself. Then he was back to all smiles and bravado. "Milady! I wondered when you would arrive! As you can see, I've got my arms full at the moment."

Groaning at the awful pun, the superheroine turned his attention back to the villain. "Just tell me you haven't already used Cataclysm."

Chat shot him a sheepish smile. "Alas, I cannot," he replied. "I tried it on one of the tentacles, but it ended up just growing back." As if to prove his point, his ring let out a familiar _beep_ as one of the paw pads disappeared.

"Oh swell," Ladybug muttered. "Alright, let's wrap this up quickly! Lucky Charm!"

~o~

"Bien joué!"

No sooner than their fists bump than Chat Noir bolted away. He didn't have time for their usual pleasantries and quite frankly he wasn't in the state of mind for them anyway. The rooftops flew beneath him as he raced against his dwindling time, back to Grand Paris where Martin was waiting.

...Only it appeared that he wasn't. Chat squinted at the empty rooftop, skidding to a halt. Martin wasn't there. He specifically told him to stay there, damn it! Oh Bells, where could he have gone off to! Home. School. Same direction. Spinning around, he made a mad dash for the patisserie, even as his ring gave a last threatening warning. He was close, he could see the familiar rooftop ahead. He could almost-

Suddenly, his transformation gave mid-jump. The blond yelped as he fell forward, sneakers skidding onto the long, flat school rooftop until he rolled and tumbled forward. Before he landed rather unceremoniously on his face.

"Kid, what the hell!" Plagg's voice called above him, hovering over his chosen as the blond groaned and pushed himself up. "You could have just _walked_ to school as yourself! You're lucky there was a roof to catch you! What was the hurry!"

Adrien winced as he held his arm up and saw a particularly long, bloody scrape against his forearm. His father was going to kill him. More importantly though, he pushed himself up to his feet, cradling his wounded arm as he looked over to the bakery across the street. There wasn't any sign of Martin there. A cold lance of fear went through him, along with the onset of panic. He had to find him. He had to make sure that he was safe. Why didn't he just stay where he was told!

That was when he spotted familiar black and red out of the corner of his eye. Adrien ducked down reflexively. Oh no, he did _not_ want to see Ladybug right now. He'd do something foolish and irrational, like yell at her or kiss her again or something. Thankfully, it looked like she didn't notice him and in fact was making a beeline straight for the bakery as well.

 _He's not going to be there,_ Adrien thought darkly, thinking all kinds of unkind and unfair thoughts of Martin's supposed girlfriend. _If you were actually keeping him safe, you'd know._ So he watched, morbidly curious about how she would react. She dropped in through the hatch door as if she owned the place, hopping lightly down into the empty room. Her arms clasped up over her head, stretching out after the fight.

Suddenly, it wasn't Ladybug anymore.

Martin stood in her place.

Adrien stared, his eyes widening as his jaw went slack. The designer dropped his arms, addressing a little red spot that hovered in front of his face. A kwami. The evidence was right there in front of his face, but his mind was barely functioning from shock. Martin was- and Ladybug- B-but Ladybug was a girl. How could-

Plagg let out a whistle. "Well damn, Tikki got one of those again. Poor kid. Wait, doesn't this mean that you kissed your best friend?"

The blond let out a noise like an unintelligible squeak, his entire face turning as red as a cherry.

He had kissed Martin. Martin who was Ladybug. Ladybug who he was in love with. Whom he swore he would love, no matter who was behind the mask. Whom he still loved, even as he declared her his enemy.

Except it was _Martin._

"Oh my God..." Adrien swore, his heart beating so hard in his chest that he was sure that Plagg could hear it. "I'm in love with Martin." As he spoke the words, admitted to them, his entire body went hot and flushed, sharp trembles crawling down his shoulders. A somewhat hysterical laugh escaped him, giving the black kwami above him some cause for concern.

"...Kid, you okay? You're looking a little manic right now."

The blond looked up, his green eyes bright. "Plagg, I'm in love with my best friend," he said with a smile that could light up the world. "How awesome is that? Everything just makes so much _sense_ now."

Plagg let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, yes, yes. Fine, but you're forgetting about me! I need some cheese after your little daredevil stunt!"

Adrien let out a dismissive wave, but winced as he suddenly remembered the bloody scrape along his arm. "Okay, right. Let's figure out how to get off this roof."

With a little finagling with the lock to the roof access door, the model made it back down in one piece. He walked with a slight limp, still sore from his rather indelicate tumble. He stopped at his locker so that Plagg could pig out on the spare cheese in there, before hobbling back to class.

Martin was already there, naturally, way ahead of Nino and Alya who had yet to make it back from the akuma site. Adrien stopped at the door, pausing to just _look_ at his best friend. His heart thudded rapidly in his chest, still raw and fresh with its new findings. Now that he didn't have his Ladybug tinted lenses on he could see just how attractive the other boy was.

Oh, he knew before, aesthetically. He was in the fashion industry after all. He had eyes. But now that he knew he was in love, it was as if every part of the designer looked as if it had been lovingly and painstakingly crafted by the finest artisans. From the lean, fit body, to the strong and slender fingers, to his silky raven hair that shone with sapphire highlights. And those eyes. Oh Bells, those _eyes._

No wonder Chloe had a crush on him. Who wouldn't?

It only occurred to Adrien a moment later that he only saw Martin's eyes, because the other boy was gawking at him. "Um... are you okay?" Martin asked, as the blond spent a beat too long in his glorious revelation.

Adrien's cheeks flushed. "Y-yeah, I'm fine!" he said as he limped over to their seat. Which was when Martin noticed what kind of state he was in.

"Holy- Adrien, what did you do to yourself?!" he demanded, surveying the nasty scrape and the bruises that were likely beginning to form. As he sat down, Martin set to manhandling him, looking underneath his overshirt, over his arms and running a hand through his blond locks to check for other damage. "What on earth were you doing?"

"Falling head over heels for you," the blond replied, a wide grin spread across his face. He was stupid, madly in love. He wasn't even angry that Martin had tricked him. How else would he have figured out how much the other boy meant to him?

The words froze the designer mid-examination.

Martin slowly stared up at him. "...Okay, now I know you have a head injury." He went to his feet and tugged the blond up with him. "Come on. We're going to the nurse's office."

As it turned out, he did actually have a concussion. Not that it had anything to do with his revelation at all. Although it might have something to do with the fact that he wasn't more angry than he was. In any case, he was immediately sent home to rest and recuperate. Not to return for days.


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien finally returned to school on none other than Valentine's Day. His thoughts were a bit more sober but no less nerve wracking. He'd spent the past week on bedrest with no access to visitors, phone, TV, internet, or books. Nothing but to just be alone with his thoughts. In the very same room where he'd spent so many hours with Martin and Ladybug both.

It only strengthened his conviction that he was, in fact, in love with Martin.

However, it also reminded him of the one and only time he'd kissed the other. When Ladybug had shoved him away in anger and indignation. It was... it was a confusing time and he wasn't really sure why he was rejected. His motivations were definitely impure and he was glad he was shot down at the time. Now, though, he realized that he had no idea how Martin might feel about him in return.

A visceral fear went through him at the thought of being rejected. It was one thing for Ladybug to reject Chat Noir. As it was for Ladybug to reject Adrien. It was another thing entirely for Martin to reject him. His best friend, his closest confidante, Bells, his _soulmate._ What if he messed up their friendship by confessing? What if Martin grew too uncomfortable with him and they grew apart? He couldn't lose Martin. He just couldn't!

Little did he know that his best friend was very much in the same boat. Martin had a whole week to himself to determine so far, that yes, he liked kissing Adrien. He liked it when Adrien looked at him as Ladybug, like he was the center of the universe.

And... that was as far as he got.

In his defense, it was confusing! He'd never had any kind of inclinations towards a boy before! Was he gay? Was he just Adrien-sexual? Did this have to do with his Ladybug side or was all of this genuine? Was he going to turn into that gay fashion designer stereotype?

All he knew was that both incidents happened as Ladybug. So... maybe if he kissed Adrien as himself, he could sort it out once and for all.

...Yeah, no. That wasn't going to happen.

He could just ignore them. Yup. Ignore the feelings until they went away. This all started with his Ladybug visits and since Ladybug wasn't going over anymore, everything was going to go back to normal.

Martin's resolution threatened to crumble the instant the model stepped back into the classroom. Their eyes met and both froze up like deer in the headlights. Caught in the middle, Nino and Alya glanced between the pair of them before they exchanged a look. The reporter coughed into her fist, "Adrien, welcome back. We missed you. You doing alright?"

That seemed to snap Adrien out of it as he gave his friends a sheepish smile. "Yup, all better," he said, rubbing a hand against the nape of his neck. Showing off the bandage from his bloody scrape along the rooftop.

"What's that then?" Martin demanded, jumping up from his seat to inspect him. He took Adrien's wrist, turning his arm over to look him over.

"Oh, uh, that's just some extra precaution," Adrien replied quickly to reassure him. "My father doesn't want it to scar, so he's being extra protective."

"Well, okay fine. Although getting out of modeling wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," the designer said under his breath.

"You're telling me," the blond grinned. Which is when he realized that Martin's fingers were still wrapped around his wrist, thumb tracing along his pulse. Unwillingly, he began to blush, his throat tightening up as he internally began to panic. Then Martin looked down, suddenly realizing the same thing. His own face went bright red, once again frozen where he stood as he looked up to Adrien's own wide eyes.

Nino coughed this time. "Dudes? Class is about to start," he reminded them, startling them out of their blushing trance. Both boys gave a small start before sheepishly taking their place behind them. Nino looked to Alya again, both thinking the exact same thing as they shared twin smiles.

Class continued to be incredibly awkward. If one wasn't looking at the other, the other was. When they both managed to glance at the same time, they froze up for a half second before looking away to anything else. For most of the class, it was incredibly amusing to watch.

Chloe, however, glared at the scene over her shoulder, eyes narrowed as she studied the pair.

When the bell rang for the day, she immediately accosted Adrien, stealing him away for some weird scheme or other. Martin really didn't know how Adrien put up with her sometimes. The perils of having Chloe as a childhood friend, he supposed. You just sort of learned to live with parasites that old.

In any case, he had his own distraction when he spied Alya and Nino looking up to him with expectant gazes. "Um... hi?" he said with raised eyebrows.

"So~ Did you have plans today?" Alya asked slyly.

"Um... no?" Martin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Funny, Adrien said you were busy with someone," Nino said lightly, making the designer freeze up. Shoot, he completely forgot that Adrien let that slip. "So is that not actually the case?"

"Uh... uh, you know what? I have to go. Y'know, helping out at the bakery," Martin said quickly, before he had to make up some other lie. "It's a big day today! Valentines and all that! Cakes and chocolate out the wazoo! Gotta go!" With that, he fled, rushing out the doors, past Kim and Max, and Adrien and Chloe both.

Meanwhile, the queen bee had her hooks into Adrien, smiling sweetly up at him. "Adrichoue~ Please, won't you be my valentine today? You're not doing anything, right?"

"Chloe, I'm not going to be your arm candy just because!" the model sighed. "I've got better things to do this afternoon." Those better things being piano practice and homework. ...And possibly thinking about Martin.

As if reading his mind, Chloe leaned in and said, "Oh, but think of your so-called best friend. He'd be so _envious_ that you have a date and he doesn't."

Just like that, Adrien saw his old friend's endgame. "Ah," he said, unimpressed. "You want to make Martin jealous, don't you?"

Chloe blinked and then let out a shrill laugh. "What me? Why would I want to make Martin jealous! Don't be ridiculous!"

The model gave her a dull look. He honestly didn't know if Chloe was trying to hide her crush on Martin or if she was in complete denial of it. Either way, he wasn't about to play along. He had enough of jealously for a long while. "Whatever, Chloe. I'm going home, okay?" Ignoring his old friend's squawk, he headed outside and found Max giving Kim a pep talk. It didn't take much to guess what was going on. He wished them luck, even if he was sorely lacking in the love department.

His eyes couldn't help but slide over to the patisserie across the street, where he knew that Martin was hiding away in his room. A resigned sigh escaped him as he headed to his car.

"Are you really not going over there?" his kwami's small voice called from inside his shirt pocket. It must be really bad if Plagg was giving him any kind of love advice.

"What choice do I have, Plagg?" Adrien shrugged as he headed home. "I'd rather have Martin as my best friend than not have him at all."

~o~

Martin let out a long sigh as he looked over his school work. The words were beginning to blur in front of his face, so distracted was he by his thoughts revolving around a certain blond model. Tikki looked up to him from her plate of cookies, as the raven haired teen sighed for the umpteenth time. "Martin, please cheer up," the little kwami said, "Adrien still likes you very much, you know."

"Yeah, I know," the designer muttered, before he gave his kwami a suspicious look. "...Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"

"Nice? I'm always nice," Tikki objected. At Martin's incredulous look, she coughed delicately and said, "Well, maybe I'm being nic _er_ because you're finally beginning to be true to yourself." She gave him a faint comforting pat on the arm. "I know it's hard, Martin. Love is difficult, but I know that if you stay on the path you are on, things will work out for you."

"...Thanks, I suppose," Martin said, his lips twisting into a faint smile. His phone suddenly buzzed at his elbow, alerting him to a text message. He blinked when he saw it, then frowned when he realized who it was from. "Chloe? Since when did she start SMSing me?" A little afraid to open it, he forced himself to and then sucked in a sharp breath at the picture. It was none other than Kim kneeling in a puddle and covered muck and garbage, a bright jewel extended towards the camera. "Oh no! That- that- _Chloe!"_

Now Kim wasn't his favorite person in the world, but no one deserved that! His heart panged in sympathy, thinking how easy it was for him to be in Kim's shoes with such a humiliating rejection. Well, that answered that. There was no way he was going to do anything romantically inclined with Adrien. No way. This was like some kind of sign from above. Or the devil.

"Martin!" his father's voice called from below. "Martin, can you please come down here!"

"Coming!" he called, welcoming the distraction. He headed down to the bakery, not at all surprised to see that it was a vortex of controlled chaos. He wasn't lying when he said that the place got crazy on Valentine's Day. "Maman, what's up?" he asked, turning to his mother since she was the one who was free.

"Oh, Martin," his mother smiled, "if you're done with homework could you do a favor for us? We had a last minute order and our delivery truck has already left. Could you go and deliver it for us?"

"Sure, no problem," he answered. He didn't usually handle delivery, since his parents knew what an epic klutz he was. It just meant that they were desperate now.

Sabine gave him a warm smile and a pat on the cheek. "You're such a good boy," she cooed, causing a smile to spread across Martin's lips. She deposited a non-descript small white box in his hands and sent him on his way. "Just remember to be careful, Martin! Late is better than never!"

"Yes, Maman."

Once he was outside, Martin peeked at the address on the box. His smile dropped instantly. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me."

A half hour later, a very begrudging Martin stood out in front of the impressive facade of the Grand Paris Hotel. With a tone as black as his expression, he held the box out to the stoic doorman. "I have a delivery for Chloe Bourgeois here. Please take it."

He shouldn't have been even remotely surprised to see Chloe come out of the hotel herself, strutting like the diva she was. "Oh! The peasant delivery boy is here! How quaint!" she giggled, looking Martin over. "Did you happen to look in the box?"

Martin did everything he could to contain the growl at the back of his throat. "No, I didn't-"

Chloe flipped open the box lid, showing off the beautiful heart-shaped chocolate ganache cake inside. Inscribed with the words _Chloe & Adrien_ scrawled in white script over the top. "Isn't it such a lovely tribute to my darling Adrichoue~?" she giggled, before batting her eyelashes at him and her smile turned into a sneer. "Doesn't it make you _jealous?"_

It took everything that Martin had not to roll his eyes. Adrien would never in a million years hook up with Chloe. He thought of her too much like an annoying cousin he couldn't get rid of. "You know, I kind of have things to do so-"

Once again, Chloe cut him off, "Alas, I just got a text from Adrien and he's not going to make it for our date tonight. And I _can't_ just show up at _Epicure_ tonight by myself. It would be absolutely mortifying!" Her blue eyes slid over to him, studying him in disdain. "But I suppose that if I dressed you up, you could look somewhat presentable. Although you really _can't_ make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. What do you say, Martin? Want to go on a date with the most eligible bachelorette in Paris?"

Martin's eye twitched, his expression naked with revulsion. His fingers grasped tightly around the cakebox, threatening to squeeze the contents within. "Now listen you-!" he snapped, ready to throw the chocolate cake right onto her designer clothes. And he knew for a fact it was impossible to get chocolate stains out of vicuna wool.

For some reason, he was interrupted _again_ by a booming voice from above. "This!" the voice screeched, causing the pedestrians below to look up. Martin's eyes widened when he saw the black and red winged villain above, armed with a wicked bow. With an arrow aimed right at him. "This is who you rejected me for, Chloe!" the villain demanded. "Well, he'll never love you back!"

Before Martin could react, the arrow flew from the bow, hitting him square in the chest. The cake fell from his hands, smashing into the pavement below.

~o~

Adrien wasn't really sure why he was reading the Ladyblog. Probably force of habit. Possibly because he was feeling lonely. He'd thought that not confessing his feelings would keep him close to Martin, but instead he felt too awkward to head over there as he normally would. Too afraid that he'd slip. Too afraid that he'd ruin things.

For some reason, it already felt like they were growing apart. He let out a sigh, causing Plagg to glance over in his direction. "So," the kwami said as he took a nibble of cheese, "how's that whole staying friends with Martin plan working out?"

"You don't have to make fun, Plagg," the blond muttered. "I already know I'm making a mess of things."

The kwami let out a huff. "You two just make everything so complicated! Hiding this, disguising that, keeping things secret. Just keep it simple."

"It's _not_ simple, Plagg," Adrien reasoned back as he scrolled through the blog. "All you care about is cheese anyway. What do you know about love?" He tuned out the kwami's answer, frowning as the page refreshed itself with a new positing. A live streamed posting.

Alya's face showed up on camera with a shaky view of the park and the sky behind her. Her eyes wide as she reported, " _Ladybloggers! There's a new villain out there called Dark Cupid who's out to ruin Valentine's Day! He's turning everyone against each other, couples, newlyweds, best friends! Keep your loved ones close! And be careful!"_ She was suddenly interrupted by a loud growl and an all too familiar voice on the screen. Adrien went cold when he recognized it.

" _There you are you are reporting on your stupid blog again!"_ Nino's voice cut in. " _Don't you realize nobody cares! This is what I think of you and your blog!"_ The camera was suddenly ripped out of Alya's hands, giving a brief view of Nino with blackened lips, before the feed suddenly cut out.

"Oh no!" Adrien cried, bolting up from his chair. "Plagg, we have to go! Now! Transforme-moi!" Seconds later, he was on the roofs of Paris, dashing along to try to find the villain in the sky. Below, chaos reigned as loved ones turned on each other, devolving into ugly shouting matches and even fisticuffs. This was definitely a bad one. He only hoped that no one remembered what they were doing under the dark influence or more than one relationship was definitely going to be ruined. He just hoped that Ladybug showed up soon or else...

Or else...

...Was that Martin down there?

Chat Noir skidded to a half on the rooftop, spying a familiar raven haired designer spray painting one of his many perfume advertisements around Paris. A cold feeling of dread went through him when he saw that the other boy's lips were as black as midnight. Oh _no._

"Martin!" he cried, dropping down to the street. The boy turned, giving him a dark, derisive look. "Martin, snap out of it!" Chat cried, taking him by the shoulders to give him a small shake. "You can't be like this! I need you!"

However, the designer only wrestled himself out of Chat Noir's grip and let out an ugly laugh. "You? Need me? Please. Whatever happened to all that bravado of yours Chat Noir? All the jokes, all the machismo? Or did you finally figure out how pathetic you are compared to Ladybug?" Chat cringed, trying to remind himself that it wasn't actually Martin talking. "Just go away, kitty cat. I've got better things to do than talk to you. Like ruining pretty boy's face," he hissed, his handsome face morphed into one pitted with unadulterated loathing.

A chill ran down Chat's spine. He'd never seen an expression so full of utter hatred in his whole life. To see it on Martin's face, directed at him... It was... It was...

It was _wonderful._

"You... you really hate him that much?" he asked slowly, his green eyes searching Martin's expression.

"There's no one I hate more on the face of this earth," the raven haired boy spat. "He's such a goody two shoes. Pretending to be so bright and so happy all the time. It's disgusting! Everyone thinks he's so bloody perfect, what with his modeling and his Chinese and his fencing- He's just a sad and lonely pathetic excuse for a human being! He's so clingy and gross! And all his talk of friendship and love just makes me want to barf!"

Chat couldn't help it. A stupidly wide grin spread over his face with each passing insult. He took a seat, cradling his head in his hands as he listened. All of which went unnoticed by the designer as he spun in his tirade.

"And he's not even remotely swoon worthy, no matter what anyone says. And that gooey thing he does with his eyes is completely nauseating. On top of that, his kisses are revolting!"

"Really now?" Chat asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Tell me more," he purred.

Finally, Martin looked over to the black clad superhero in suspicion. "No," he said, backing away from him. "You're plotting something. I know you are. Well, I don't have time for you, Distracto-Chat! I've got bigger fish to fry!"

"Hey wait!" Chat called, but the other boy was already gone. "Damn it!" He'd been so distracted by the twisted form of praise, he forgot all about his mission. Which he was definitely not going to accomplish without Ladybug's help. Which didn't look like it was going to happen as long as Martin was in this state. He supposed he should feel lucky that Martin hadn't actually turned into an anti-Ladybug or he'd be in real trouble.

Anti-Ladybug...? Anti-Love. Wait, hadn't they just talked about this in class? Something about true love's... His eyes widened and he blushed brightly. Well, that was going to be one way to kill two birds with one stone. He just hoped that it wouldn't bite him in the ass later.

"Hey, Martin, wait!" he called, dashing off to where he last saw the other boy running. It was easy enough to catch up in this form and he found Martin yet again destroying one of his perfume ads. Landing lightly on top of the green pillar where the ad was posted, Chat smiled down at his quarry. "Are you really content with just destroying photos? Wouldn't you like to do some real damage?" he asked, holding his clawed hand up suggestively. "Perhaps destroying his house?"

That got Martin's attention. His blue eyes swept up, staring at the clawed fingers. He was fully aware of what kind of destruction the superhero was capable of. "...What do you want?" he demanded, as Chat landed softly next to him.

Chat Noir smirked as he took Martin by the wrist, leading him over to an alleyway. "Just need to borrow you for a quick minute. I promise," he purred, taking them out of public view. Once they were safely tucked away, Chat pressed him up against the stone wall, his hands on either side of his head.

Martin's beautiful blue eyes went wide, only then realizing the danger. "What are you-"

Suddenly, Adrien stood in place of Chat Noir, cornering him against the wall. Before Martin could react, he leaned in, catching the shocked boy's lips with his. The designer let out a startled noise, pulling back in surprise. His eyes were wide and clear, although he looked thoroughly confused. "I... Adrien, what are you- Where are we-"

Adrien smiled, before he kissed him again for good measure. Martin let out yet another faint noise of shock, before he relaxed and melted into the kiss. They panted softly for breath, hearts pounding as they stole another and then another, making soft noises as their roving hands felt up and clutched the other closer. Somehow forgetting all about the akuma that was plaguing the streets of Paris.

Until it so rudely interrupted them. "Chat Noir! Ladybug! Come out wherever you are!" a shadow boomed above them as it flew right over the dark alley.

Adrien and Martin halted mid-kiss, their eyes straining upwards to the sky. Martin was the first to pull back. "...Were you making out with me in the middle of an akuma attack?" he asked incredulously.

"No time like the present, right?" the blond replied with a not quite repentant grin. "I suppose we'd better take care of that first. Then we can pick up where we left off."

Martin blinked. "We?" He got his answer a second later, when Chat Noir stood in Adrien's place. A sharp strangled noise of horror escaped the designer, who very nearly tumbled back in shock.

Chat caught him by the waist before he actually took a spill. "Whoa, easy there," he said. "Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. But we can talk later. Time to save Paris first. Right, Buginou?" he said with a smile and a wink.

This was all a little too much for Martin to process at once, as he went red and speechless. However, Adrien/Chat was right. They didn't have time for this. Nonetheless a growl rippled from his throat as he leveled a look of outrage on the black cat. "Once this is over, you and I are going to have a _very_ long, serious talk about inappropriate behavior. Tikki, transforme-moi!"

~o~

After Dark Cupid was well and purified, the promised 'argument' did come.

Although it was a touch one-sided as Martin ranted his full fury at the blond, which Adrien simply ignored with a dopey lovesick grin stretched across his lips. It was more than a little difficult (impossible actually) to stay mad at that face. The designer quickly found himself only growing more and more flustered until he simply ran out of steam. Besides, it wasn't exactly like he had a moral leg to stand on.

To which, as promised, Adrien picked up right back where they left off and utterly destroyed any lingering doubts and resentment by kissing him senseless.

After that, surprisingly, not much changed on the exterior of their relationship since before the Ladybug visitations. They were still as close as ever, spent as much time together as before, touched as often (if not a little more), and generally continued to act as the closest of best friends. However, the keen observer might notice the lingering looks between the pair, or that they might duck out without warning for some private time, or even that Martin would on occasion show up in designer Gabriel Agreste label clothes to school in the morning.

Chloe was not one such keen observer.

"...She really isn't taking the hint, is she?" Martin said flatly, as they looked to the enormous wrapped package the class diva had presented to Adrien for an early Christmas present. Meanwhile, she presented Martin with a lump of coal.

"She's still crushing on you," the model replied darkly, his hands tightly clasping the edge of his desk. He'd gotten slightly... twitchier when it came to his childhood friend. More specifically on her continuous crush on Martin. "Can't you just let me-"

"No."

"But she-"

"Nope."

"Please?"

In a low voice, Martin whispered in the blond's ear, "I told you, I don't want this public yet. I don't want to get stereotyped as the gay fashion designer kid."

" _Nobody_ is going to think-"

"So, what did Chloe get you anyway?" the raven haired boy asked, peering at the large gift. Effectively, ignoring and cutting off the rest of the argument.

Adrien, as ever, let out a frustrated sigh. Martin was so incredibly stubborn sometimes. He loved that about him, but it was also incredibly vexing. He'd wear him down. Eventually. That was his specialty. Without further argument, he popped open the lid of the box, allowing both himself and Martin to peer inside.

They stared at the contents for a long pause.

"...Okay, let's tell her," Martin decided, as he delicately closed up the box again and did his best to forever burn the image from his mind.

Adrien let out a cheer, kicking the box away as he took his boyfriend by the wrist to tug him to the front of the class. Everyone was already present, save for Mme Bustier, so all eyes were on the pair of them as they stood in front of Chloe and Sabrina. It was all the designer could do not to blush under the attention.

"Good morning, Chloe," Adrien said cheerfully, his arm wrapped around Martin's shoulders. "Wanted to thank you for the present, but I'm afraid I really can't accept it. I'm seeing someone already, so it would be inappropriate for me to take it."

The blonde diva blinked at this news. "Wait, you're _what?_ Since _when?"_ she demanded shrilly. "You're not allowed to see anyone else! I'm your social partner!"

"Mmm, sorry," the model replied, sounding completely unapologetic. "Guess you'll have to find someone else, seeing as I've already found the love of my life." Anyone in class who wasn't paying attention definitely was now, their eyes training on Martin who began to sweat.

"Who?!" Chloe demanded, ignoring the way that Sabrina poked at her shoulder to try to get her attention. Unfortunately, she was just too self-absorbed to notice.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Adrien's lips, as his arm suddenly slid from Martin's shoulders down to his waist, tugging him even closer. "Him," he said, ever so smug. His green eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer, coming nose to nose with Chloe as a growl ripped from his throat, "So you better back off because he's _mine."_

With that, the bright and cheery Adrien returned and he hummed lightly as he pulled Martin back to his seat, leaving a stunned and speechless Chloe Bourgeois in his wake. Martin wasn't doing much better, his face bright red as they settled back into their seat. The model glanced over to his partner, raising an eyebrow as he took in his expression. "Too much?"

"That was... that was really _hot,"_ Martin wheezed, his face only glowing brighter. His hand found Adrien's knee, clutching it tightly. "As in, I really need to kiss you stupid right now, hot."

Adrien blinked, before a sly smile spread across his lips. "You know, they already think we're kinky enough as it is, seeing as we keep disappearing at the same time for akuma attacks."

" _I don't care, let's go,"_ the designer said in a rush of breath. Without further warning, he briskly left his seat and took off towards the rooftop. Smiling like the cat that caught the canary, Adrien followed at a slightly more sedate pace, stopping only to give a wink to Chloe, before taking off after his boyfriend.

"W-where are you going?!" Chloe demanded after them, only to get ignored.

"Well, obviously to go get some action!" Alya cackled, delighting in the class diva's flabbergasted expression.

"Are you serious? It's like five minutes to class!" Nino said as he checked his watch. "It'll be like a brief makeout session, tops."

"What _those two?"_ the reporter scoffed. "You know that they're going to turn up half an hour late. Mme Bustier's already given up on them." Several students chuckled in agreement. Martin and Adrien's secret wasn't so secret after all.

Chloe stared at the class, realizing that somehow she was the only one left out of the loop. However, she was the first to realize, "Are you- are you telling me, that the two hottest boys in school are out there right now, going down on each other, _and no one is taking pictures?"_

That stopped the chuckles short.

"Oh my God, she's right!" Alya cried in horror. "We could be making a fortune by now!"

"Forget that! I want all those pictures for my private collection!" Chloe snapped, slamming a hand down on her desk. "€200 for each picture with the pair of them together! And they better be clear as day! None of that tabloid garbage!"


End file.
